Entertainment

The Content Battle Heats Up: Comcast Launches Netflix Competitor

Comcast is hoping to prevent its cable customers from cutting the cord by introducing a new streaming video service.

The service, known as Xfinity Streampix, is designed to complement Comcast's existing Xfinity on Demand and TV Everywhere initiatives. Xfinity Streampix will become available to Comcast customers later this week and includes access to full-seasons of TV shows from Disney-ABC, NBC Universal, Sony and Warner Bros. It will also include streaming access to full-length movies and kids programming.

In a statement, Comcast describes Streampix as "another step moving TV Everywhere forward by giving customers access to an even greater library of popular choices to watch." The service will be included with most Xfinity triple-play packages and the Blast! and Blast! Extra video/Internet packages. For users who don't subscribe to a qualifying bundle, the service will let customers purchase the service for $4.99 a month.

Customers can access movies and TV shows using Xfinity On Demand, XfinityTV.com and the Xfinity TV app. Comcast plans to roll out support for Xbox 360 and Android in the coming months.

The Content Battle Heats Up

How is this different than Comcast's existing video-on-demand strategy? It's all about content. Ultimately, the battle taking place between TV Everywhere (and traditional cable) and over-the-top services (such as Netflix) is about content. More specifically, it's about access to that content.

Critics of the cable TV paradigm often point to price as the main reason that customers cut the cord. It's true that pricing — especially in a recession — is part of the shift, but I would argue that it's less about price and more about perceived value. What's the point of a $150 cable/Internet package if I can only watch on my TV (and must rent a box for each TV set)? Meanwhile, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu offer location-agnostic services and access on a plethora of devices.

One of the reasons that HBO Go has proven to be such a success for the premium network (to the point that once-resistant cable providers have now signed-on) is that it gives customers location-agnostic access to HBO programming, thus making HBO a better value for end users. It answers the value question by giving users the opportunity to consume content from multiple device types and locations.

Cable providers succeed in providing iPad/web access to on-demand and live programming, but many of the best on-demand offerings are still relegated to the set-top box. With Streampix, Comcast is hoping to give users an additional incentive to keep that cable subscription by offering access to streaming content from other devices and locations.

Is This Enough?

Fundamentally, Comcast's strategy isn't dissimilar to what Dish Network is doing with its Blockbuster Movie Pass service. It's giving subscribers additional value and added content. Comcast is going a step further by making its service available on more device types and locations.

Still, is this enough to prevent users from cutting the cord? The lineup of programming that Streampix has secured doesn't look particularly impressive — it's nothing that users can't already get from Netflix or Amazon Prime. But still, as a free add-on, it's a good start.

Ultimately, Comcast is going to have to play licensor alongside its competitors in the space and this just means that content owners will continue to have more leverage in what they can charge to license content.

But I can't help but think this might be the start of what could be the true savior of cable TV as we know it: Multi-device/location-agnostic access to live programming and on-demand content across the board.

If cable could manage to get over the fear of letting live TV leave a specific location (as Cablevision limits access to its fabulous Optimum Online app), the average user might not have a reason to cancel cable. After all, if I can watch live, on-demand or catalog content from the office, a Wi-Fi enabled airplane, my parents house in another state or at home, wouldn't that $150 a month be more worth it?

Only time will tell if Streampix will help Comcast move towards that direction. But at least it's a start.

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